Glance at the schedules in this week’s high school football preview section and you’ll immediately notice something’s different.

After years of discussion, the MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) has finally implemented a statewide high school football playoff system, which will crown a state champion in each of six divisions.

That means big changes in scheduling for area schools, and in the significance of the Thanksgiving Day football rivalries.

Playoff Scheduling

Central Mass. teams will play in divisions 2, 4, 5 and 6. Nashoba Regional and Wachusett Regional are in Division 2, Clinton is in Division 5, and West Boylston/Tahanto and Assabet Valley are in Division 6.

Eight teams in each division will advance to the playoffs, which begin on Nov. 1, after a qualifying schedule of no less than six and no more than seven games.

The MIAA will meet on Oct. 27 to determine and seed the playoff qualifiers, using the Central Mass. Power Rating System below:

• 12 points for defeating a team that is two divisions higher (excluding league games)

• 10 points for defeating a team one division higher, within your division, or one division lower; for defeating a team within your league; or for defeating a team outside of Central Mass.

• 8 points for defeating a team that is two divisions lower (excluding league games)

• 2 points for each of your opponent’s wins (a team that you have defeated)

• 1 point for each of your opponent’s wins (a team that has defeated your team)

Power rating ties will be broken through head-to-head records, followed, if necessary, by winning percentage within the division, followed, if necessary, by a coin flip.

Four Central Mass. tournament quarterfinal games with be played Nov. 1 to 2, using the traditional one vs. eight, two vs. seven, etc., pairings. Games will be played at the higher seed.

The four winners advance to play two Central Mass. semifinal games Nov. 8 to 9, with the games being played at the higher seed.

The four quarterfinal losers and two semifinal losers don’t drop into the non-playoff pool. Instead, they drop into a “loser’s bracket” that determines their final season games prior to Thanksgiving (see figure, this page).

Finally, Nov. 15 to 16, a Central Mass. champion is determined in each division, and those teams advance to play in the state semifinals, which take place Nov. 22 to 23 at an MIAA-predetermined site.

Central Mass. will play Western Mass. in the state semifinal. This year, Divisions 2 and 6 will play in the west, while Divisions 4 and 5 will play in Central Mass. Next year, those locations will be reversed.

After a break for the Thanksgiving football games, which will be the last game of the season for all teams except the state semifinal winners, a state final will be held in each division at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 7. The winner of the Central-West state semifinal in each division will play the winner of the North-South state semifinal.

Non-Playoff Scheduling

Teams that do not qualify for the Central Mass. tournament will have their November schedules, with the exception of the Thanksgiving game, determined each week by a scheduling committee made up of four regional MIAA Football Committee members, plus league representatives.

Each week’s game schedule will be determined by noon on Sunday of that week. According to the MIAA, games will be scheduled “based on power ratings, division and will avoid rematches whenever possible. Schools may file an appeal with their Scheduling Committee requesting a change of a week 8 to 10 non-playoff game opponent. Appeals must be submitted to the Scheduling Committee Chair via email by 6 p.m. on Sunday. Criteria for considering appeals is: 1) Playing an opponent for the third time, 2) Thanksgiving opponent, 3) schedule inaccuracies. Scheduling Committees will act on all appeals by 9 p.m. on Monday evening of the schedule week.”

This process continues for three weeks, after which all non-playoff teams will conclude their season with their Thanksgiving games.

Thanksgiving

All teams, regardless of whether they make the playoffs, will play their traditional Thanksgiving Day (or week) games. However, these contests will no longer have any impact on who makes the playoffs, which will have been determined weeks earlier.